USA Retain The Mosconi Cup
TEAM America retained the 2006 PartyPoker.com Mosconi Cup after four days of incredible drama at the Cruise Terminal, Rotterdam.
Corey Deuel won the last singles match with a 5-2 success against Spainard David Alcaide. That left the overall score at 12-12 and, under the new rules of the competition, meant the USA had done enough to defend their title.
It was heartbreak for the Europeans as they had been 8-4, 9-6 and 12-10 ahead but full credit to the Americans who showed their strength of character to fightback while also up against a partisan home crowd.
In the final match of the 2006 competition, the proposition was a simple one for Spain's David Alcaide - beat Corey Deuel and win the cup for Europe, lose and the American's would retain it.
The Spaniard won the lag and looked calm as he went through the balls and he incompleted the rack with an 8-9 combination to take a 1-0 lead.
Deuel, the master of the soft break, made a very comfortable run out in the next to square it up at 1-1.
But Alcaide, who was competing in the Mosconi Cup for the first time, kept cool to win the third rack and after winning the lag was in prime position to win the match and the trophy as long as he made no errors for the rest of the encounter.
Deuel kept up the pressure on the Spainard by breaking and running through the next but still needed Alcaide to make a mistake.
It came in the fifth rack when Alcaide missed a shot at the 1-ball but he got lucky as Deuel had to play safe. The American then had some fortune of his own by missing the 1-ball but also not leaving it on.
Both players then produced some of the best safety play seen throughout the competition before a full contact on the 1-ball from Deuel left Alcaide with a chance but he lost position going for the pink 4.
However, Deuel missed the same ball in a match full of tension and drama but Alcaide missed the 9-ball and with it passed the advantage to the American as Deuel could not believe his luck to go 3-2 in front.
A 5-9 combination from Deuel made the score 4-2 as USA were now one rack away from retaining the Mosconi Cup.
Alcaide missed the six in the next and that proved to be Europe's last shot in the competition. Deuel used a jump shot and got lucky as the six ball come back up the table and deflected off the 7-ball to go into the pocket and set up the 5-2 victory and overall draw.
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